MORGAN HILL, Calif - Morgan Hill Police arrested a man Friday afternoon after they say ran two dogs for my than seven miles with out water, eventually leading to one of them having to be euthanized.
Morgan Hill Police said, on June 01, 2012 at approximately 4:00 p.m., officers were dispatched to the area of Calle Mazatan and Calle Cerro on a report of a man pushing a bicycle and dragging two dogs as they lay on their sides. Officers arrived and found Antonio Palomarez, 36, standing over two dogs, a female pit bull and a female boxer.
Responding officers saw the dogs were laying on their sides, non responsive and panting profusely. Palomarez claimed ownership of the pit bull and said that the boxer belonged to a neighbor. Palomarez stated that he was exercising the dogs to tire them out. The dogs were taken on an approximately 7 mile run without water before or during the exercise.
Officers transported the animals to a local veterinary hospital due to the dire condition. The pit bull was unable to do anything but pant and otherwise remained unresponsive. The boxer was able to hold its head up, but unable to move or get up from the ground. Once at the veterinary hospital, the dogs were reported to have internal temperatures of 105.9 degrees for the pit bull and 103.1 degrees for the boxer. The dogs were immediately diagnosed with hyperthermia / heat exhaustion.
The condition of the pit bull continued to deteriorate even with the IV fluids. For the pit bull to have any chance of survival a blood transfusion was necessary. Unfortunately, the transfusion did not improve the dogs condition and ultimately had to be euthanized.
The boxer recovered after receiving IV fluids and was later released to its owner later that evening.
Palomarez was arrested at the scene for animal cruelty and transported to MHPD for booking and later released after posting bail.
If anyone has information regarding this case is asked to call the Morgan Hill Police Department at 408-779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at 408-947-STOP (7867).
Antonio Palomarez
